Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

​The Jerusalem Post comments on the refusal of two fundamentalist parties in the government to recognize non-Orthodox Jews, and declares: “It is absurd that the Start-Up Nation of 2016 is incapable of extending the religious freedom ostensibly guaranteed by its Declaration of Independence to all its citizens. It is especially absurd that, in a so-called democracy that fails to separate religion and state, a government with the majority of a single vote can be blackmailed by two fundamentalist coalition partners that dictate a corrupt human rights policy.”

Haaretz is angered by the stigmatizing of the Breaking the Silence organization, and wonders whether declaring it a terror organization and arresting all its members will “solve all the security problems that Israelis are suffering from, and for which the government has yet to devise a solution – the recent terror wave, the intifadas, military operations and other ills deriving from the prolonged occupation.” The editor finds it regrettable that “instead of leading and finding real solutions to terror, the government is applying a nasty strategy of wild incitement against a human rights organization,” and concludes: “All this is taking place in a state that boasts of its democracy and compares itself favorably to the region’s other nations.”

Yediot Aharonot remarks that the IDF and the Shin Bet’s efforts are currently focused on keeping the "lone wolf intifada" from turning into an all-out popular uprising, and states: “Perhaps the results of these efforts will be seen in the coming months, and there will be a decrease in the number of attacks carried out. At least, this is the hope of both the Israelis and Palestinian Authority, which is also worried about the possibility of this ‘lone wolf intifada’ turning into a full-fledged popular uprising.”

Israel Hayom believes that “Saturday’s attack in Istanbul was an indicator of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s helplessness in the face of terrorism,” and states: “No government can prevent all terrorist attacks, but Erdogan has no real achievements to his name in the anti-terror realm.” Citing Erdogan’s capriciousness, the author points out that “In the good old days, Israel was a source of guidance to Turkey when it came to fighting terrorism,” but adds: “in recent years, the ties between Israel and Turkey have been in a deep freeze, and it is unclear when the ongoing reconciliation talks will reach a conclusion.”